I was wondering if anyone played a Strat through a Marshal VS100R Combo Amp or any Valvestate amps. What are you feelings on the tones it produces and what kinds of music do you play out of it?

Welll....I haven't played this setup personally, but a guy I was working with a year or so back played that exact combo...an MIM Strat thru a VS100R. Personally, I didn't care for the tone at all. I play an MIM thru an old Lab L5 and I thought my Lab sounded -much- better side by side with the Valvestate (not to mention, my Lab had -A LOT- more power too!). With that said, I also have to mention that much of this also does come down to style too...this guy I worked with, while a decent guitar player had a very different style than my own and I really felt our sounds tended to clash...hence why I no longer work with the guy (that and his tendency to pass out during practice from smoking too much of the funny stuff). I also have to admit here that I have NEVER been a fan of Marshall amps, Valvestate or otherwise. Too crunchy with a serious lack of dynamics. I very much prefer the sound of my Lab or even something like a Twin Reverb or even a Roland JC 120...those are just better suited to my style of playing. BTW...I play mostly classic rock and blues with some oldies and originals thrown in for flavor.

My suggestion to you would be to just go into a decent guitar store and try the rig you're thinking about yourself and see if -you- like it. Ultimately the opinions of a bunch of strangers on an internet forum really doesn't bear too much weight when it comes to personal preference. Only -you- can decide what is right for you.

Peace,
Jim

Now now Hendrixfan A marshall 8100 then 8280 were my chosen amps through the nineties for gigging with a 8040 at home. the 80 series were the first valvestates. The range of tones on the amps are quite amazing keeping a good bit of warmth despite their solidstate power amp and pre amp on the gain channel. The single 12ax7 operated on the clean channel. Something that i found as quite a shock, but after a bit of research found that marshall amps use diode clipping to acheive distortion on their valve amps. It started around the time of the jcm800.

I used the gain channel exclusively, its control range far exceeded the clean/crunch channel. The midrange contour is particularly usefull in determining where you want your mid range peak or cut. The amps not only cut all mids they boost them quite well to. Modern marshall amps have a trick that lots of other manufacturers tend to leave out. If you have you middle up full and still need some more lowering the treb and bass a bit will give you a bit more middle. The controls interact with each other tremendously.

I found a full range of sounds out of those amps with my strat. Other amps do make those particular sounds better but you never find em all in one box that perform like that amp. A good speaker cab and good leads and your well away. I found the standard 1960a cab to be the best option to keep versatility. It handles scoop,boost,gain and clean perfectly well.

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Hi Hendrixstratman: I am a Strat-into-Marshall man through and through. For some years now my main amp has been the 122 Triple Super Lead, which is the dog's whatsits to my taste.

Searching for something low maintenance to use as a practice amp which might somehow compare slightly with the big beastie I first tried Marshall MGs at either end of the range. Very disappointing.

So I next dragged home the AVT100XT, the current Valvestate model. In a friendly way Nikininja (above) and I disagree a little about this amp - though his ears are good and I'd pay attention to what he has to say.

My own feelings are that on its own the amp has plenty to offer and at least for the time being will remain my daily practice amp. My problems came when I first A/B'd it against the real thing - the TSL. Both are three channel switching amps: to my surprise it is the clean channel that holds up best in comparison with the TSL. Where Niki and I would respectfully go our separate ways is that he would likely say that is because he doesn't like the clean channel on the big amp, so it ain't much of a trick equalling it. I like that clean channel much better - no Fender, of course, but... So there ya go. The AVT does a nice job of matching it.

To my ear the other two channels are where the disappointment sets in, when compared directly with the tube driven real thing. The AVT's crunch is OK, but nothing special: the drive/lead channel is just fizzy nonsense for beginners to get a metallic flavor in their mouths.

The onboard FX are not worth bothering with - unless you have nothing else to hand. I use them for a touch of reverb and that's it.

In the end, I play mostly through the clean channel with a bunch of pedals for drive and effects. I sometime go to the crunch channel and sometimes not. So really I might as well have bought one of the lower models in the range - which is what I'd recommend to you if it's just for home playing. If you must have 100 watts for gigging - well, it'll do you absolutely fine till tube amps come your way.

There: that's a pretty fulsome review, ain't it?

Good luck - C

Wow, two opposite opinions. The first response, Marshall is just the wrong amp for him. The second seems a bit partial.

While I have never played a strat through one, my feeling is they will not match real well unless your strat is a HSS, but you would find some good sounds in the mid gain classic rock style and good lead tone. The valvestates are hard rock to metal amps imho.

I have never been impressed when testing driving a Marshall, but its been a long time, and someone told me the new ones are much better. They never seemed to have enough crunch to me at lower volumes, and all my favorite players use marshall. The thing with their valve amps is they need to be cranked up. This is why many marshall players prefer the 50 watt versions over the 100 watt. The 100 watt was just too loud to get the power tubes really breathing. But a huge part of the majic from Marshall comes from the power section, not the preamp. Obviously, the valvestate is a different animal though. If nothing ese, they are probably one of the best quality solid state amps out there.

Play with it, turn the knobs and see what they do and you will know if its right for you. Good luck

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

Ceri i like the AVT's too. There was a bit of misunderstanding around the thread that said disagreement came about. I thought they were talking about MG's you thought it was AVT's. Your right though, i dont use the clean channel for anything not even clean sounds.

A metal lead playing friend of mine has a AVT150. After fully going over that amp i can say i hear what you mean about the fizz on the high gain. That problem was null on the old 80 series and VS series through the mid contour control. It seemed to operate better on the older amps. The power issue isnt a huge problem on these amps, they dont operate like valve amps so they sound ok when quiet.

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Hi Niki: actually, now I come to think about it, wasn't it specifically the clean channel on the TSL that we feel differently about? Now I reread what you say about the clean on the AVT I can't find a thing to disagree with.

And in any case, ladies and gentlemen, I'd point out that unlike me Nikininja has a good understanding of what is going on under the hood of these machines to create the sounds we're hearing. Apart from the 12AX7 in the preamp of the AVT I couldn't begin to tell you what its circuitry is about.

One day, Niki, I'd love you to teach me about biasing. How much have I shelled out over the years for other people to do simple valve changes for me?

C'mon, Ceri! Pull yer thumb out!

Cheers - C

Here's a great tool for biasing. However i have a vague recollection that these types of meter have a reputation for leaving amps hot whilst oscilloscope's can leave em cold.

http://www.compu-bias.com/

Whatever i think i'm going to investigate em. if their any good i'll let you know.

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I do, as a matter of fact I use two small 20 watt AVT's, and I play them both at the same time totally cranked up in stereo with my Boss GT8 the sound I get is really nice and sweet

I run my MiM Std. Strat through my Marshall AVT50H (hybrid) halfstack. Wonderful tones, driven and clean. Playing through the neck pickup only on the clean channel really nails that SRV/blues tone, I have to say. I've grown quite attached to the tone. The driven state is wonderful too, great for metal or hard rock. Very clear and hot sounding.

The only Marshall I've played my strat through a friends JCM 800, and although I liked it, I find the clean channel doesn't come even into the same neighborhood as either of my old Fenders. I did however really like the amp under a lot of gain. But I don;t really play a lot of stuff that will utilize those tones. if I had the cash I would pick one up, but it seems that when I have that kind of money free for spending, I crave a new guitar more.

I am also a Marshall model 8100 (100 watt Valvestate) user. I got a half stack in the mid '90s so that I wouldn't risk dragging my Mk. II Master Volume tube amp to crummy gigs.

I mostly used the "crunch" channel/setting. It gave me plenty of "authentic" Marshall tones.

I also have an old Marshall Lead 12 (model 5005) that gives very nice "bluesbreaker" type tones.

Both of these solid state amps sound quite nice with a Strat. I can't say the same about some of today's non-UK solid state Marshalls, unfortunately.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

[quote="Twelvebar"]The only Marshall I've played my strat through a friends JCM 800, and although I liked it, I find the clean channel doesn't come even into the same neighborhood as either of my old Fenders. I did however really like the amp under a lot of gain. But I don;t really play a lot of stuff that will utilize those tones. if I had the cash I would pick one up, but it seems that when I have that kind of money free for spending, I crave a new guitar more.[/quote

Ah Twelvebar i own 2 jcm800's. Your right even the clean channel on the 4211 version doesnt sound clean. Those amps were developed in the late 70's early 80's and made to drive. Lowering the gain to 3 or 4 on the drive channel does however stay clean up to about 6 on the master volume.

The 2203 is quite a different beast. Single channel and it just wont stay clean, no matter what the gain is set at. Mine has 6550 valves that are noted for their lack of breakup still it drives the poweramp at about 4-5 on the volume control. I'd love to hear it with kt66's.

Their never going to sound like a fender amp, even when you can clean em up the sparkle lacks a bit. Lucky the drive is so good eh?

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OrvilleOwner.
The lead12 was the amp to have when i was a kid. And if a man that owns a JMP can gig a valvestate happily enough then anyone can.

Did you consider the attenuator (we talked of some time back) anymore. I did and even tried a marshall powerbreak. I came to the conclusion that a lot of the 'marshall magic' is the extreme sound pressure of a cranked plexi. The 8/900's dont seem to crank quite the same way. something to do with their higher pre-amp gain maybe?

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Yeah, my little Lead 12 has surprised a lot of people with it's tone. I'm a one-channel amp kind of guy (and no reverb, thank you).

There is one thing, when I first bought the 8100, I tried using it through my old 1960 Marshall cabs and it didn't sound good, not enough treble. I ended up buying a Valvestate cabinet which had fuller range speakers (matched to the 8100 head) to get the high end. An amp guy I know later explained to me that the old tube amps are pretty hot on the high end and they were matched up with Celestion speakers that had a roll off on the high end. The solidstate amp doesn't have that hot high end so it didn't sound good through the old Celestions.



I have tried out a THD attenuator. A friend of mine has dragged it over to my house a number of times when he's brought over amps he's made (to try them out through my Marshall cabinets). I tried my Mk II (pictured below) through the attenuator, but I didn't like the sound any better than the amp's own Master Volume (which I've gotten well used to over 30 yrs).

I would probably use an attenuator if I had a Marshall that didn't have a Master Volume control.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.